News from Local Labour

Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe elected to lead West
Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Liverpool City Council is to spend an additional £1
million tackling homelessness over the
next two years.

No Laughing Matter is the name of a campaign by Tower
Hamlets Council, Tower Hamlets Homes and Tower Hamlets Police to help tackle
some of the problems caused by nitrous oxide.

Hackney Council officers are speaking to shopkeepers to ask
them to join a scheme to help keep these dangerous substances off the street.

Islington council has installed its first
rapid electric vehicle charging point, in what it claims will be the first of
one of the ‘largest and most widely available charging networks in the
country’.

Labour Local Government Conference 2018 - save the date

The 2018 Labour local government conference will take
place on Saturday 3 February with the pre-conference dinner taking place on
Friday 2 February. Details of how to book will be advertised in early autumn.

Summer break

We hope you all have chance for a summer break, the
bulletin will return in September.

National news

Most survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire are still living in emergency
accommodation, the Grenfell Response Team has said.

The most disadvantaged pupils are more than two years behind
their classmates when they sit their GCSEs, according to the Education Policy
Institute.

A long-awaited review of fixed-odds betting terminals
(FOBTs) has been delayed until the
autumn, following a rift between the Treasury and the government department
responsible for the gambling industry over regulation of the controversial
machines.

The 21st Century Councillor: why we need to invest more in our
local representatives.

CPAG
and the Living Wage Foundation's new guide Moving to The London Living
Wage: A Guide for Local Authorities in London is out today and is
available to download now. It is a practical, comprehensive guide from CPAG and the Living
Wage Foundation, which aims to help local authorities in London become
accredited Living Wage employers. The guide also aims to help local
authorities that are already accredited go even further as Living Wage
employers. It includes top tips, local authority case studies and best
practice advice for encouraging take-up of the Living Wage among local employers.

News from Wales

A major transport link that will
cut congestion, improve air quality and further open up development sites along
the River Tawe has opened in Swansea.

News from the Labour Party

Labour has published analysis of
overcrowding in English primary schools with more than half a million pupils
being taught in super-size classes.

Labour analysis demonstrates £3bn
blackhole in Tory spending plans revealing the damage this government’s weak
and unstable leadership has done to the public finances.

The LGA has launched the Housing Advisers Programme to help councils meet the housing need of their local area. Flexible and locally-led, the new programme funds independent experts for up to 20 days, providing bespoke support to local authority projects to deliver homes, reduce homelessness, or generate savings or revenues. Expressions of interest from councils or groups of councils welcome before 12 September 2017. For more information and to apply, email housingadvisers@local.gov.uk

Events

Inclusion and diversity masterclass
event for fire and rescue authority members26 September 2017 at Layden House, London

All
members from FRAs are welcome including chairs, and members with responsibility
or an interest in diversity and inclusion. This is a free event for
councillors and will include sessions from the new inspectorate, HMICFRS, and
the National Fire Chiefs Council, alongside training sessions on inclusive
leadership and unconscious bias.

Councillor peers are a key part in delivering the Planning
Advisory Service (PAS) programme of support to local planning authorities. We
recognise that the most powerful and valuable work PAS delivers is through our
experienced councillor and officer peers so we are delivering an event in
London on 24 October to support and develop our councillor peer
network.

The objectives of the event are to:

Hone peers’ skills: Using practical examples
from recent engagements, understand the ‘what and how’ of delivering PAS
support, the key skills required, and what makes for a successful peer
engagement.

Hone peers’ knowledge: looking at key elements
of the Housing White Paper and the wider challenges that local planning
authorities are facing.

We’ll also share with attendees the opportunities we have for
working with councils and a timetable of when councils will be likely to
require the support to be delivered.

The event will be for peers with a high knowledge and
experience of planning; ideally with the recent experience of planning policy
production, planning committee processes or leading planning services.

Flexibility & Variety

Our programme of work for 2017/18 and beyond will include:

Planning Service Peer Challenges: involving
three consecutive days on site plus pre work

Planning Committee Reviews: viewing a couple of
planning committees.

1 day or evening training sessions

1 day problem solving / identification sessions

Improvement work spread out over 3 or 4 days
working with small teams of officers and/or the planning committee.

Interested Peers

If any of your planning peers would be interested in
supporting the delivery of the PAS programme, being brought up to date with PAS
core peer support opportunities, learning the key principles of successful
peer-led work and hearing about the key planning topics they can book online now.